1. Field of the Invention
This invention concerns the gathering of crawfish, and more particularly relates to a kit for constructing a trap useful for capturing crawfish that reside in muddy drainage ditches.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Crawfish, also known as crayfish, is a fresh-water crustacean closely related to the lobster. It generally lives in and along lakes and rivers of every continent except Africa. Although various species exist, the crawfish seldom grows over six inches long. In drainage ditches that border roads and farmlands, the crawfish lives in burrows that communicate with the underlying ground water. The burrowing activity produces piles of mud or "chimneys" above the burrow which interfere with mowing machines and other maintenance equipment.
The crawfish is gathered and sold for food in many countries. In certain areas, crawfish are raised in captivity for food purposes. In addition to its value as a food item for human consumption, the crawfish is also prized as a fishing bait. Those crawfish that are captured from random drainage ditches are not particularly suited for human consumption because of the uncertainty concerning the environment in which the crawfish lived. For example, the crawfish may be tainted with pesticides, herbicides or other toxic substances. Accordingly, those crawfish derived from uncontrolled drainage ditches are best utilized as fishing bait.
Devices for trapping and/or retaining bait fish such as minnows are well known. A particularly successful embodiment of such devices is fabricated of metal screening in an elongated such devices is fabricated of metal screening in an elongated design comprised of two interactively connected frustro-conical sections. Such designs are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos.: 897,589; 2,076,972; 3,387,403 and 3,916,558.
It has now been found however, that trap designs suitable for minnows are not suitable for use in catching crawfish in ditchline situations. It has also been found that, because the crawfish is a territorial creature that inhabits and defends a certain region, they exist in relatively low population density. Consequently, a large number of traps are needed to harvest a reasonable number of crawfish. This requires not only that the traps be inexpensive, but also that, in the course of storage or transportation, they occupy minimal space.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a trap for the capture of crawfish.
It is another object of this invention to provide a trap as in the foregoing object which is effective in a ditchline situation.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a kit for the production of a trap of the aforesaid nature.
It is still another object of this invention to provide a kit of the aforesaid nature which occupies minimal space when stored.
These objects and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description.